BioLogic's Scanmask Steinernema Feltiae (Sf) Beneficial Nematodes for Natural Insect Pest Control, 5 Million Size

We have purchased and used this product several times. Controlling fungus gnats is not a one and done deal. I wish it was but it seems like every bag of potting soil on the market now is infested thereby every new plant, every repotting results in a flare up of gnats. I have battled these miserable things for years and have probably tried every solution ever posted, touted and written about. With the same lackluster results. THIS product and this product alone has given the BEST results consistently. Super easy to use, no odor, enough for a couple treatments ( of course this depends on number and size of your plants ) and overall a good price for a product that delivers results. Can you see with your naked eye the nematodes….no…but they sure must be there. I did try a cheaper product- came in little net bags you placed around your plant….very limited results - cheaper yes- as effective no. Packaging of this product is nothing short of amazing. This is a sandwich bag size of product ( small amount required per gallon water) that arrives in a medium/ large box . Insulated materials with an insulated ice pack protecting the nematodes from heat insure that they arrive in the very best condition possible. This company wants you to succeed with their product. If you follow the instructions for storage you can maintain the optimal lifespan of them ensuring several successful treatments. Timing of treatment is important. I have plants that go outdoors for the summer months- they may have been clear of gnats when they went outdoors but it’s guaranteed they will have them when they come back in. I treat immediately upon bringing the plants indoors- don’t wait to see the problem. An adult gnat can lay thousands of eggs starting a cycle that becomes a huge problem. If at any time you see one gnat ….order these nematodes immediately and do treatments. It’s easy to confuse fungus gnats with fruit flies but look around your kitchen- do you have overripe fruit sitting out ? Do you live next to an orchard or vineyard with ripening fruit? ( true story- I lived next to a vineyard and would get fruit flies right around harvest time). If not ….just accept that you have fungus gnats and be proactive.

Spendy, but if you have fungus gnats, you will find it well worth your money! There really could be better instructions. I always overthink things when there's not a clear explanation. I got these for my house plants so I had to convert the instructions from gardening, to make them applicable. In the end, after several emails back and forth with the company, who by the way are really great, this is what I had to do: This packet of 5 billion did all 35 of my houseplants-2 times. I estimated by dumping the packet onto a clean paper plate, separating half. I put half the powder in a 5 gal pale filled with 2 gallons of water and put the remaining powder back in the packet. I filled my little watering can from the mix in the bucket and watered my plants. I put the tiny bit of left over water from the bucket into a water jug that I could fit into the fridge. THAT HAD TO BE USED within one day. The next day I hit my most needy plants again with the left over water. [I think that a person could make a more diluted solution (ie: mixing ½ packet with 3 gallons of water rather than 2) so you don’t have to be so conservative and thorough while watering plants. That would also alleviate the step recommended by many to go back and water with plain water the next day to assist in even distribution. That’s just my thought. ] About 3 weeks later, I used the remaining contents of the package before the expiration date on the packet. *You will not be able to see any signs of life without a microscope! Just get them in the fridge when they arrive. Keep the packet closed and dry and put an extra zip lock over it while in the fridge. Mix with cold water. Apply at night because the directions say to, but I don't think it's that important for inside plants unless it's midday and they're getting enough sun to kill the nematodes before they get safely down in the soil-so use when the sun goes down. Store the mixed solution in the fridge, use it up within 24 hours, and trust! You see nothing happen. It's when you realize that fewer and eventually no gnats are flying around, that they worked. I am reordering to get the others that were in a stage that I missed. I think this will take care of my problem for good. I have been using mosquito bits since the nematode application and they help, but some gnats are slowly reappearing. You need both, and probably a few cycles-two for sure, to erradicate the problem. Mine was BAD. I tried all of the home remedies and wasted so much time. Just get these and some mosquito bits and get rid of the problem once and for all. Order them ASAP when you see a gnat reappear! Expect to maybe do preventative maintenance at least once per year even if you don't see any gnats When you mix, you will see the DE floating around and remaining clumping looking. It's only in with the nematodes as a de-caking agent. It is nothing to worry about. With the vague instructions and in overthinking all of this, I did a lot of research. Some DE, and lots of mosquito bits will not hurt the nematodes but fertilizer, and of course-pesticide is said to be harmful to them. Therefore, you kind of need to plan things out. I used insect frass as a fertilizer, and neem oil about a week before my nematode application, and I didn't have to worry about that hurting the little fellas.

I appreciated the review/tips by SHEILA R TWITE, but felt like I needed more information... so I'm sharing with you what I did that yielded fantastic results. Fungus Gnats are annoying, but also harmful to plants. I so appreciate this product and will use again if needed in the future! TIPS FOR USING BENEFICIAL NEMATODES TO CONTROL FUNGUS GNATS IN INDOOR PLANTS 1. Keep the Beneficial Nematodes (BN) in original packaging and place inside a mailing envelope or manilla envelope to minimize light exposure. YOU MUST STORE IN REFRIGERATOR. Avoid direct sunlight or warm places as this could kill the BN. 2. Always treat plants in the evening after dark. Again, this is to minimize the possibility that sunlight/heat could kill BNs before they get a chance to burrow into the plant soil. 3. Packaging states that it contains 5 million BNs and that 1 packed teaspoon = 5 million BNs. I found that my package had more than 1 teaspoon in the package. The packaging provides tips for mixing up the entire package, but you do not need to use the entire package at once. In fact, depending on the number of plants you need to treat, you can likely get multiple treatments out of one package, with treatments spread over a period of several weeks. By doing so, this helps to ensure that you are catching all the fungus gnats in your home since treatment only targets the larval stage. I also recommend that you use yellow sticky traps (Amazon) to help catch/kill adult gnats to limit additional eggs from being laid in the soil during your treatment period. 4. Start by mixing 1/4 teaspoon of BN (packed) with one gallon of cold water. Mix well and wait 15 minutes before using. While waiting those 15 minutes, water your plants with plain water (before treating with BN solution). You do not have to fully saturate plants – but just get the top of plant soil wet in preparation for the BN solution. 5. When BN solution is ready, transfer to a watering can and then treat your plant’s soil. Goal is to split this gallon among all your plants. Bigger pots will need more solution. {I have 20 plants and I chose to mix up 2 gallons (1/2 tsp of BN) to treat all my plants.} You will be watering again with plain water in the next step. 6. After using BN solution, water your plants again with plain water. This sort of “waters in” your BN solution, but also ensures your plants are adequately watered- it is up to you how much water your plants can tolerate. The BN directions also mention rinsing off BN solution from foliage. I don’t believe the solution is harmful to the foliage, so this step is really to make sure that all the BNs make it into the soil and are not wasted (and may apply more to outdoor applications?). I pretty much treated the soil (not foliage), so I didn't worry about rinsing off the foliage. 7. Note the “use by” date and make a plan for using the entire package over the period of several weeks. See #3 regarding spreading out treatments. 8. I found that the vast majority of my fungus gnats disappeared after the first treatment, but it is important to note that a surviving (or new adult) fungus gnat can continue to lay eggs thus continuing the life cycle. This is why I recommend multiple treatments over several weeks and using yellow sticky traps to capture the adults before they can lay more eggs. Directionsm from BioLogic website: https://biologicco.wpengine.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/06/Sprayable-Directions.pdf

This stuff is amazing. I order it twice a year and it keeps the fleas away. It's so nice to not have to spend so much on flea treatments and subject my animals to that. Well worth it. I would have given it 5 stars but one time when it was delivered, the gel pack was warm and apparently they were dead because they didn't work. I just received my second order for the year and again they are warm and the ice pack was warm. Therefore they are probably dead like last years second order. They need to find a better way to pack them in the summer.

I purchased these for an indoor setup. It has been a month with treatments every other week. Through sampling I can verify that I did not observe any dead nematodes before application. Gnat larva has been reduced by approx 80%, adults are down by 95%. When added to an IPM these are amazing at protecting the medium against infestation level events. I would recommend anyone who is in trouble with gnats in greenhouses or labs to try these little monsters. Warning, details below: I sampled a larva with medium and approx 50 nematodes, monitored over a week. The larva clearly stopped its regular behavior of feeding nonstop, became more agitated. By day 5 it was actually biting at itself and the nematodes had clearly entered its body. By day 6 it was no longer feeding and seemed to be attempting to "remove" the nematodes within its body. By day 8 it was orange and non responsive. I forgot to continue to watch the sample for the nematode larva or bacterial decay, but I assume it would have happened.

Followed their instructions exactly, and ended up with a fungus gnat infestation even worse than when I began. The problem with using nematodes is that they require moist soil to stay alive and do their job. This is also the exact soil that fungus gnats love to lay eggs in. I followed the exact instructions, refrigerated the packet of nematodes as soon as they arrived, then applied them at night with no direct sunlight by soaking them in a watering can for about 20 minutes. I did this over multiple plants that we had a gnat infestation in and all 3 plants have developed an even worse infestation. I live in the desert and with our dry air, I made sure to water the soil every day or so to keep it moist, per the instructions, to keep the nematodes alive. Not sure why they didn’t do their job, and there’s no way to tell that they are alive when you receive them in the mail so it's basically a $30 hail mary. All in all, I spent over $30, kept my soil moist and ultimately provided an ever better environment for the gnats to lay new eggs and produce even more generations. Back to BTI and yellow sticky traps.

Actually works. Helped me finally win the battle against fungus gnats. I felt like I was going crazy trying everything. I used the bag slowly over a few days, by mixing a portion with water and watering. Also kept it in the fridge. Saw a noticeable decrease after the first day. Was also using sticky traps, but stopped seeing them flying around after using this product. Finally!

I am so pleased with the results of sprinkling these little nematodes in my garden. This is my third season growing in this new garden. Season one and two. The flea beetles and leaf miners did a lot of damage on kale and migraines. I know that the nematodes don't do anything to the flying insects, but I figured that the insect larva was in my soil so I took a chance on on these nematodes and this year the garden is quite successful.